Guide To Developing High-Quality, Reliable, and Valid Multiple-Choice Assessments

Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Chemistry faculty members are highly skilled in obtaining, analyzing, and interpreting physical measurements, but often they are less skilled in measuring student learning. This work provides guidance for chemistry faculty from the research literature on multiple-choice item development in chemistry. Areas covered include content, stem, and response construction; item analysis; item difficulty; and item discrimination. The goal is to help faculty construct high-quality, reliable, and valid multiple-choice items to evaluate students’ ability to meet learning objectives and to demonstrate proficiency in the content domain under study. Using item-writing guidelines based upon the research literature allows faculty to create assessments that are reliable and valid, with greater ability to discriminate between high- and low-achieving students.